


Reaching For You

by ImogenSmiley



Series: Reigisa [5]
Category: Free!
Genre: Attempted Flirting, Attempted Hand Holding, Awkward Flirting, Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Self-Doubt, Set after the relay, Writemas, hand holding, post-season one, reassurance, writemas 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21681118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImogenSmiley/pseuds/ImogenSmiley
Summary: After Rei gave up his space on the relay team for Rin, he didn’t expect what happened next.
Relationships: Hazuki Nagisa/Ryuugazaki Rei
Series: Reigisa [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531475
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Reaching For You

Giving up his place on the team hadn’t been something he’d considered doing before he arrived at the venue. But all it took was a look at Haruka-senpai to realise that there was only one way to make things right, and that was to remind Rin of the sight that he’d seen in elementary school. Did Rei understand it the way his team did? Absolutely not, but the distress that everyone was in was enough to make the decision for him.

If Team Iwatobi needed a butterfly swimmer and Rin was in such a state, he just had to let it happen.

The race was heated, and watching them in such syncronicity despite never having practiced with Rin struck a chord deep within him. He’d sat with Gou, Amakata-sensei and Coach Sasabe and just watched. He had chewed on his lip. His violet eyes had been wide as he gawked at the effortless exchanges between each member of the old team. They were unified under the embrace of the waves, and even seeing it from the stands was emotive.

Was that what being in sync really meant? Was that what Nagisa-kun had been talking about back when he’d been discussing the sight?

Rei swallowed the lump in his throat. Team Iwatobi were on the final exchange, between Rin and Haruka-senpai. There was a serene look on the redhead’s face as he gawked up at him. Everyone was buzzing after swimming their leg. Nagisa was bouncing on the spot, having already removed his swimming cap, and letting his goggles hang around his neck.

Makoto-senpai was giving Rin a side hug, but in the final fifity metres all that mattered was Haruka-senpai. Everyone shouted for him, screaming his name from the bleachers and poolside. The team was unified in their desperation for Haru to reach the end of the race. He was in the lead by a significant margin, but there was always a chance he could be overtaken. Nobody wanted that to happen.

Of course, once Haru had reached the finish line, and the race finished, it took mere minutes for someone to identify Rin as a member of a different swim team. Within five minutes of winning, Team Iwatobi was disqualified. But none of them seemed to care. Something more important had happened in the embrace of the pool.

Nagisa had waved for Rei and Gou to come down. They wanted to celebrate a victory, even though it was a different type of success. Within the embrace of the water, they seemed to rekindle whatever it was that they’d lost over the years. Rin Matsuoka was out of the slump that had consumed him and things were going to be okay.

For nostalgia’s sake they’d decided to retake the photo from their childhood, Gou had opted to take it on Nagisa’s pastel pink digital camera. Rei had made sure to scoot out of the way, not wanting to be in the way, when the blond pouted and took hold of him by his Team Iwatobi jacket and pulled him into the frame, refusing to let go of the fabric until he smiled for the photo. The entire image had been a copy of the original, but Rei’s presence seemed to elevate the image.

He insisted on them taking one of just the original group, but even Rin insisted that he stay in the shot.

Once they’d left the pool, the group broke off into their pairs, Rin making his way toward an angry Captain Mikoshiba, and Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai talking about what they’d just experienced.

Nagisa, however, lingered with Rei.

“Was it everything you could have asked for?” Rei asked, his eyes on the ripples in the pool. The relay had been the concluding event of the day, and there he was, watching the water’s ripples ease into a state of stillness. The audiences had been clearing out, but still, he’d lingered.

Nagisa smiled, nodding once, “It was amazing Rei-chan, Rin-chan is Rin-chan again and I’m so glad he’s back. I’ve missed him so much.”

Rei nodded, his hooded eyes closing, a small, sad smile crossed his face. His stomach was in knots and his hands were clammy. He placed them in his lap and took a long, deep breath.

“But there was something I wished too. I wished that there was a way that we still could have swam together. You deserved to see it, to see what we’d all been talking about. After all, you were the one who helped us to get there, it wasn’t fair you didn’t get to swim too.”

Blush crept onto Rei’s cheeks. He shook his head, “I appreciate what you’re saying, Nagisa-kun, but you don’t need to flatter me.”

“I’m not! I’m not! Rei-chan you deserved to swim!”

Rei ducked his head, “Nagisa-kun, I-”

“No! No Rei-chan! I wanted you to be there, I was so excited to swim with you! I really wanted to!”

“Don’t worry too much, Nagisa-kun. It’s okay. There will be more competitions.”

Nagisa perked up, his magenta eyes, once bleary with tears, glistened. He wiped them and took hold of Rei’s hands. He beamed up at the taller boy and squeezed his hands, “Really Rei-chan, do you mean that?”

“Of course, Nagisa-kun.”

“Oh Rei-chan I’m so happy!” he reached over and hugged him tightly, “I’m so glad! Thank you!”

Blush crossed both of their faces as they embraced, “There’s always next summer, we’ll win next time, I’ll work harder and we’ll do it!”

The boys exchanged a smile and finally got up from their seat on the bleachers and exited the otherwise empty pool. The staff seemed to share a collective sigh in not needing to evict the teens who were clearly having a much-needed heart to heart.

“I’m so proud of you, Rei-chan. We’re going to do so well next year, come on, let’s go have ice cream!”

“Okay! Let’s go, Nagisa-kun.”

The boys still had their fingers reaching toward each other as they walked together toward the exit, but neither seemed to pluck up the courage to lace their fingers together. But neither minded. Their company was enough.


End file.
